A $950 million settlement ends a 50-year fight over the duPont trust and Delaware's children

The Alfred I. duPont Charitable Trust, the Nemours Foundation, the State of Delaware and the State of Florida have reached an agreement that commits $950 million over 11 years to children's health and well-being in Delaware, according to an October 2 announcement from Nemours and the Delaware Department of Justice. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported on the terms on October 15.

What the agreement does

The agreement creates a new grantmaking arm, the Alfred I. duPont Charitable Fund for Delaware's Children, to fund nonprofit programs focused on children's health and well-being in the state, the announcement says. The Chronicle reported that payments begin at $130 million in 2027 and step down to annual distributions of $75 million.

Grantmaking will continue beyond the $950 million commitment, including at least $237.5 million for Nemours' Delaware initiatives, according to the announcement. Spotlight Delaware reported that the money set aside for Nemours cannot "supplant existing operating costs" at its Wilmington hospital, with exceptions for "strategic" programs or investments unlikely to be profitable for the hospital.

Who governs it

The fund will be governed by a committee of directors: three appointed by the trust and one appointed by Delaware's governor, the announcement says. Spotlight Delaware reported that the committee has five members, with the four appointees choosing a fifth, independent member, and the Chronicle reported that a majority must be Delaware residents. Owen Lefkon of the Delaware Department of Justice told Spotlight the committee "would not be a public body" because it is a private trust.

Why it took five decades

Alfred I. duPont established the trust in 1935. The Chronicle reported that its governing terms name Delaware's children and elderly as the "first consideration" for spending, yet the trust and Nemours were based in Jacksonville, Florida. Delaware first challenged the trust in 1977, and a 1980 settlement required Nemours to spend at least 50 percent of its annual trust funds on Delaware operations, Spotlight reported. The new agreement vacates that settlement. In 2024 a Florida appeals court ruled that Delaware's attorney general could pursue a lawsuit over that limit, the Delaware Department of Justice said at the time.

The trust has distributed more than $5 billion to Nemours since 1980, the announcement says, and the Chronicle put the trust's value at more than $10 billion. The Delaware Department of Justice says it worked on the matter for roughly 50 years, through seven attorneys general in two states.

Attorney General Kathy Jennings called the resolution "a watershed moment for the future of every child in our state" in the announcement. Thomas G. Kuntz, chairman of the trust, said, "This collaboration directly delivers on Mr. duPont's vision." The Chronicle quoted Kuntz as saying, "Litigating costs a lot of money."

What other boards and donors can take from it

In our view, the case shows how long a dispute over a founder's stated intent can run when the governing document leaves room for more than one reading. For the same principle at the scale of a single gift, see a restricted gift is a promise. For another large place-based commitment announced this month, see the Moody Foundation's Galveston pledge.

Delaware nonprofits will want to watch for the new fund's grant guidelines. Kirsten Olson, CEO of Children & Families First, told the Chronicle, "This is an incredible opportunity for Delaware to think differently." We have not seen the agreement itself, and neither the announcement nor the news reports we read say whether a court must approve it.